| 569 | Nathan LED Safety Strobe | 2012-02-01 |
My wife, Amy, rides her bike to her school on most mornings. The only problem is that in the winter months the shorter daylight period means she rides to work in the dark and often times also returns home in the dark.
Amy carries panniers on her bike that have plenty of reflective tape; but she still needed good lights (and it is the law in Tennessee). We have tried a number of lights; but none were perfect. Finally, in her Christmas stocking she found a couple of Nathan LED Safety Strobe lights. Reading the reviews on the REI site, the only real complaint that Santa found was the clip on the light was inadequate. If she liked the light, we would fix the clip.
The light definitely lit up the night. The two lights working in tandem will definitely warn approaching drivers. In fact the lights are so bright the bike might be mistaken for an emergency vehicle!
Securing the lights on her bags, still remained an issue, as the light never felt securely attached to the strap. Then on her ride home she heard one of the lights fall to the road. The light was not hurt and was easy to retrieve. After I heard the story, it was time to do a modification.
Retaining Cord Modification
I could not see an easy way to keep the light attached to the bike bag; but it was easy to attach a retaining cord. After drilling a small hole in the clip, I ran a piece of cord through the hole and tied it in a loop. If the light came unclipped from the strap, it would be held by the cord. It was a very easy fix.
A few Nathan light notes ...
The light has eight modes from non-flashing to odd strobe rhythms.
The off mode is one of the eight. You have to go through the entire cycle to reach the off mode.
It is easy to press the selector button, even while wearing gloves.
We attached the light to a strap on the pannier. The lights could also attach to jackets, vests, pants, shorts, packs, etc.
A safety pin might help to modify the light's clip if you have trouble keeping it attached to clothing.
The light burns up to 150 hours. A couple of rechargeable batteries should easily light up the skies for a month or two.
The light only weighs 1.2 ounces with the batteries.
The light is a great light and worth the bit of effort it took to modify the clip.
If you drill the clip, you probably void the warranty. Make sure the light works and you are happy with it before any modifications.
The Nathan light only costs seven dollars!
It is great to see my wife safely riding to work as she lights up the dark morning with her strobe lights. Santa did well this year.
Happy Nathan Safety Strobe light trails